Governors Chafee and Gregorie look to get Marijuana reclassified

Washington state governors Lincoln Chafee and Chris Gregoire believe that the Federal Government should legalize Marijuana for Medical use, making it a schedule II controlled substance.

Gov. Lincoln Chafee

Especially when using equipment such as a vaporizer people are increasingly arguing that the health benefits for people with certain medical conditions significantly outweigh any negative effects on health. The argument is for making it easier for patients in need to get hold of Medical grade Marijuana to help deal with symptoms including severe pain. This is an argument that seems to be gaining pace with several presidential candidates behind it including Ron Paul.

Ron Paul however believes that the Feds should take a completely hands off approach and allow states to make their laws freely.

Currently the difference between states and the federal government means that even if your state has legalized Marijuana for medical use, Washington and Rhode Island being among the ten that have, it may not be that easy to get hold of it. If you do get hold of medical marijuana legally then you could still be in trouble as federal law takes precedence over state law.

Governors Chafee and Gregorie believe that legalizing the drug nationwide for medical use would make supply simpler and allow more patients who are in need to benefit with no ambiguity over whether what they are doing is legal or not.

Medical Marijuana activists though they welcome the comments of the governors still feel that at state law level is where the advancing of medical marijuana laws should be done.

Many people of course are worried that if Marijuana is available for medical use that it will often be resold or fall into the wrong hands, others worry about the health risks. Medical Marijuana grown for the purpose though is ideal for the pain relieving benefits and other benefits such as dealing with symptoms of diseases including Parkinson’s. What medical marijuana is not ideal for is recreational use where the effect most people want is a little different.

Gov. Christine Gregoire

What activists wanting changes to medical marijuana laws also point out is that people who could benefit from medical marijuana but can’t where they live do often get hold of marijuana anyway: this puts vulnerable people in contact with criminals in order to get marijuana that is far from perfect for their needs.

The heath problems caused by Marijuana are also much less than many believe and much less than schedule II drugs such as cocaine and opium that can be prescribed. This schedule II designation is what Governors Chafee and Gregorie hope to get for Marijuana.

Marijuana is for a start far less addictive than many other drugs including painkillers and it is rarely associated with instantaneous death. With the use of equipment such as a vaporizer as well those using medical marijuana can enjoy the benefits with only minimal negative effects.

Vaporizers release the properties of Marijuana without burning the plant, this means no smoke which contains toxins and which have perhaps the most serious effect of Marijuana. Many people in fact argue that it is the tobacco that is usually smoked with Marijuana that causes more health problems that the drug itself and with a vaporizer no tobacco is needed.